SasoDei: Blades of Infinity
by Happii Haden
Summary: Trapped in a virtual world where death is as real as the outside world. This MMORPG takes all RPGs to a new level. A race to the level 100 as players fight for their lives to return back to the real world. No one is backing down. Not everyone will be returning home. There is no second chance. Only GAME OVER.
1. Prologue

_Hello once again fanfiction friends~ Haden here! Back with a really nerdy story c: _

_Like...really nerdy._

_Star Trek references nerdy. _

_Anyways, I finally finished watching Sword Art Online (SAO) and it inspired me to write my own similar story! I got the idea around maybe episode 14 and I honestly thought I wasn't going to change it much from the actual plot of SAO, but after finishing the series I came up with something even greater! HOOZAH FOR BRAIN POWER!_

_Note that this prologue may be a bit boring, but most prologues are boring._

_Anyways, I hope you all enjoy my little nerd story c: _

_And please tell me if you'd like for me to continue it ^_^_

_okeyimdonetalkingnowbyebye_

_**WARNING:**_ _Will contain future yaoi _

_Rated: M (becuz there will be smut c; )_

_Naruto © Kishimoto_

_SAO © Kawahara_

_Story © Me_

* * *

"Akasuna! Quit that damn doodling and get back to work," a voice snapped sharply.

A man with blood red hair jumped slightly and turned around in his chair. "Sorry, sir. I was ju-"

"No excuses!" the man snapped. He straightened his tie and glared at the young redhead. "This is the third time this week. Take a look around, Akasuna. What do you see?"

The man looked around then back at his boss. "An office…"

"Yes! Good, good. Now, tell me. What are you sitting in?"

"A cubicle…"

"Exactly. So get your head out of the clouds and get back to work!" the angry man snarled. He reached over the redhead and forcefully took the page covered in doodles. He ripped the paper to shreds and let the pieces fall over his employee. "All of you! Back to work!" he snapped walking away.

Everyone lowered their heads and turned in their cubicles. The redhead sighed and began to shake out all of the paper shreds in his hair.

"Damn, Sasori. Boss chewed you out once again."

The redhead turned around and stared unamused at his computer screen. "I wish you'd quit hacking into my computer, Matt," he stated glaring.

The hooded figure on a video laughed, "I do not know what you mean~ Who is this Matt you speak of?"

Sasori rolled his eyes and moved his mouse to click out of the screen.

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" the hooded figure exclaimed before removing his hood. A young male with messy bright red hair and excited brown eyes. "I don't mean to bug you at work, but I have exciting news!"

The older redhead raised a thin eyebrow, "Yes?"

Matt smiled and pulled up another tab on the redhead's computer. "A new game is being released and they're looking for betas. They emailed me just a few minutes ago and I managed to convince them to let me have a second key. What do you say?~"

Sasori frowned and looked over the new tab. The game cover had a bunch of anime looking ninjas with the title _Blade of Infinity_ scribbled across. He scrolled down and read the description.

_A MMORPG to play with your friends all around the world! Experience it in 4D with the OpticNerve harness. Create your own character and team up with friends as you fight your way up to the final levels. __**Blades of Infinity**_ _is the first rpg to include up to 10 different rpg themes; Ninja, Fairy, Elven, Medieval, Pirate, Animal,Oceanic, Future, Victorian, and Monster. JOIN US AND PLAY TODAY!_

"Pretty awesome, right?" Matt grinned.

Sasori shrugged, "It's something. Must take up a lot Gigabites though. What's the OpticNerve?"

The young redhead grinned even wider and disappeared. There were sounds a shuffling before he popped up again. In his hands he held up some kind of futuristic looking glasses.

"Is that La Forge's Visor?" Sasori asked almost laughing. "I knew you were a nerd, but this is mega nerd."

Matt pouted and crossed his arms. "It isnt! Although, it would pass for a cosplay of him wouldn't it? Either way, you have no right to call me a mega nerd! You're the one who brought up the _Star Trek_ reference."

The older redhead sighed, "Ah. That I did. Can you blame me? I'm an old man."

Matt rolled his eyes, "You're only twenty four, Sasori. That's not old at all."

"I feel like I'm forty four."

"Probably because of your sucky job!" the younger redhead exclaimed. "Anyways, the betas ar playing tonight. You in or what? If not I'm stuck with Mellsy."

Sasori frowned, "I don't know. I've played those silly MMORPGs before. I'm not the best. Besides, I don't even have one of those Visor thingies."

"OpticNerve," Matt corrected. "Lucky for you, your awesome cousin decided to pre-order and save money by buying two of them~"

The redhead rolled his eyes, "Of course. How much does the game cost?"

"Not much. Online: ¥1362.14. In-store: ¥3143.40"

"Damn. Guess I'll order online. I'll try it out, but if I hate it you're paying me back," the redhead stated.

Matt nodded, "Sure thing, cous. Hey, maybe you'll even meet _somebody_ online~"

Sasori glared, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know what I mean. A girlfriend or boyfriend. Which ever you prefer. As I said, you're still young."

"Tsch, a thirteen year old should not be pestering about my love life," Sasori scoffed. He leaned back in his chair and sighed. He felt the hairs on his neck stand up as he heard his boss yelling at his coworkers. "Okey, You have to go now. I actually have a job that I'm supposed to do. Boss will kill me if he sees me slacking off again. "

Matt nodded, "Come by when you're done with work. I'll give you the key and gear."

Sasori nodded and exited the tab. He pulled up his actual work files and sighed. Just what exactly had he got himself into?

_Later that day…_

"_You downloaded the game right?"_

"Yes, Matt. Nearly took up my entire memory, but it's up and running," Sasori stated. He sat down on his bed and opened the box for the OpticNerve. He ran his fingers across the smooth surface. "Mhm. I just opened it."

"_Plug it into the wall near your bed or somewhere you can lay down. You'll also need to calibrate it._"

Sasori set the phone down on his desk and put it on speaker phone. "Alright. Gimme a sec." The redhead pulled the gear out of the box and untied the cord. He found an empty socket by his bed and plugged it in.

"And after that?" he asked.

"_The game will set you up the rest of the way. See ya soon, cous!_" the excited redhead exclaimed before hanging up.

Sasori sighed and turned off his phone. This was bound to be interesting. The redhead switched off the lights and lied on his bed. He grabbed the gear from his side and slid it on like a pair of sunglasses. "Link Start."

The redhead nearly jumped out of skin when a burst of bright colors exploded in his face. His journey started by pressing five buttons then finished him off with a calibration test. After signing in he was transported within the game. He stared in awe as he stood in front of a virtual keyboard with a hovering avatar floating in front of him.

_Enter player name_.

The redhead shrugged and typed in his real name. It was uncreative, but the redhead doubted he'd be playing again.

_Please create a base avatar._

The floating avatar lowered to his height. Raising a hand, he tapped the face. Various options appeared before him. He gave a soft snort and smirked. Perhaps it'd be a bit of fun.

_Hair: #DC143C - Crimson_

_Eyes: #DC143C - Crimson_

_Skin: #FFEFD5 - PapayaWhip_

_Race: Human._

_Color Theme: #000000 - Black_

_Are you satisfied with these choices?_

Sasori tapped the okey button and the avatar closed it's eyes. Once again, he was transported further in the game. The sensation of being transported almost made him feel nauseous. Upon entering the game, he dropped from the sky and nearly landed on his face.

"Shit," he muttered barely landing on his feet.

_Welcome to Blades of Infinity beta demo. For this beta you will be able to level up to 10 and experience five levels on floor 1. To bring down the option menu, motion your right hand down as if pulling down an object. _

Sasori followed the instructions and was presented a floating eight inch screen.

_Here you can find your stats. Equip items to your avatar here on the left. Equipment, Friends/Guild, Messaging/Chat, Maps/Quests, Settings/Main-menu._

_Equipment (Sword icon):_ _Weapons (Sword icon), Equipped (Armor icon), and Accessories (Necklace icon)._

_Friends/Guilds (Two Avatars icon):_ _Party (Selecting this will open three additional options: Create, Invite, and Dissolve.), Friends (Selecting this will open three additional options: Message Box, Position Check, and Profile.), and Guild._

_Messaging/Chat (Two chat bubbles icon):_ _The icon will flash when you have received a message._

_Maps/Quests (Balloon like icon):_ _Field Map, Dungeon Map, and Quest._

_Settings/Main-menu (Gear icon):_ _Options, Help (Will call a GM "Game Master" to help you), and Logout. _

_Your stat bar is located to the left. There you will find your name, health, and level._

_This is all for your tutorial. Thank you for listening and participating in BOI!_

The helping sprite disappeared and left the redhead to his own devices. He swiped his hand up and the menu disappeared. The mechanics were simple enough. Sasori looked around and examined the area. He was currently located in a field with various pigs running around.

He needed to find that bratty cousin of his. The redhead always felt a bit odd starting off on his own. He wasn't much of a gamer. Pulling his menu back he decided to gear up. It'd be bad if he got into a fight and wasn't prepared. Sure, the worst would be that he'd die, but the redhead hated losing.

After equipping all necessary items, Sasori began his journey to find his cousin. Along the way however, he completely forgot about even finding his cousin. Surprisingly, he leveled up past level 10. However, he was limited to the five floors.

_I can't believe I'm actually enjoying this _the redhead thought to himself. Sasori entered Topetsu, a small town near a river. They were enriched in sheep, shields, and spices. As the redhead had discovered from the last town, you could buy certain items to use or combine with other items to create even better items.

As Sasori walked through the town he was greeted by the sight of many NPCs. It all seemed very real. He could use all of his senses in his game. Approaching a merchant immediately started up the NPC.

"Welcome to Senichi's Upgrading shop! What can I help you with today, sir?"

The redhead opened his menu and drew out his cloak, a piece of gold, and a handful of wool.

The merchant took the items into his menu. A warning popped up.

_Upgrading will cost you 20000 Acear. Will you proceed?_

Sasori tapped okey and the upgraded cloak was again added to his inventory. The merchant before him bowed before resuming in idle mode. The redhead walked away from the stand and passed by several. Passing by an alley, a quest mark popped up.

_Will you accept?_

He had nothing better to do anyways…

_Quest accepted._

"Help! Somebody! Thief!" a woman cried running from an alley. A man in a black cloak ran past Sasori and the helpless woman.

"You! You're a ninja, aren't you? Help me, please! That man has stolen my family's groceries!" the woman cried falling to the ground. "We'll starve!"

Sasori calmly put a hand on the woman's head and nodded. The woman let out another hysterical sob and watched as the redhead darted off in a puff of smoke.

_Black cloak…_ the redhead thought to himself. "Aha!" he exclaimed aloud. He caught sight of the perpetrator running out of the city. Pushing off the front of his feet, he enabled his speed boost. In a flash he was tailing the crook right behind him. Pushing off with all of his legs strength he tackled the cloaked figure and straddled him, kunai pressed to his throat.

Golden blond hair and purple eyes. Sasori's eyes widened a fracture. This was the crook? They were...pretty to say the least. No...wait. This couldn't be a regular NPC.

"Is this always how you meet new people, un?" the blond asked.

Ah, so it was a player. "Hn." The redhead got off the blond and stood, dusting off his own black cloak. He focused on the blond and he indeed saw the health bar. "BomberBrat?"

The blond laughed and got to his feet. "That's me," he grinned. Reaching up he removed his hood, releasing long blond locks. "But you can call me Deidara."

"Uh, sure. Sorry about tackling you and almost slitting your throat," the redhead muttered, a light blush dusting across his cheeks.

Deidara laughed again and waved a hand in dismissal. "Don't worry about it, uhm...Sasori?"

The redhead nodded. "Not to be rude or anything, but are you a girl or boy?" he asked bluntly.

"Boy, un," the blond smiled. "I get asked that a lot. I'm quite used to it."

"I bet," Sasori stated glancing up and down at the boy.

Deidara smirked and giggled, poking the redhead's cheek. "It's impolite to stare, un. Or could it be you're checking me out?"

The redhead scoffed and batted the hand away. "As if. I'm probably too old for you anyways, brat."

The blond put his hands on his hips. "I'm legal. Nineteen, un. You?"

"Twenty four," the redhead admitted almost embarrassed.

"You're not that old. I was expecting you to be forty or something, honestly. It wouldn't be the first time an old man hit on me, un," Deidara explained. "It happens quite a lot in RPGs. Happened to my friend once. Old man tracked her down and she had to call the law, un. Both worlds can be quite dangerous, ne?"

Sasori nodded, "Many don't take the online world seriously, even if it is a game. My job in real life actually focuses on cyber crimes."

"Ooh, sounds cool," Deidara stated. "Hey, do you maybe wanna hangout? Many of the betas left because they got to the fifth floor already. I have an hour to spare, un."

The redhead shrugged, "Sure."

Deidara grinned, "Sweet." The blond pulled down his menu and began tapping away. A dialogue box popped up in front of the redhead.

_BomberBrat wants to be your friend. Accept? Deny? Block?_

Sasori raised an eyebrow at the blond, who smiled cutely at him. _Why not? He's cute and legal…_ The redhead shook the thought out of his head and accepted the request.

_You have made a friend!_

_Exp: 2400_

_Acear: 2000_

_Items: 0_

"I'm your first friend! Cool, un."

"Tsch," Sasori scoffed, "nosy brat."

Deidara giggled, "Sorry~" He took a step back from the redhead and pointed to the river. "There's a spot by the river that's good for resting. Wanna?"

"Sure," Sasori agreed.

The blond let out an exclamation of excitement and took the redhead's hand in his own and lead him to the spot. The two men sat near the river talking and watching as the old NPC men fished quietly.

"So, you never played a _Surreal Sakura_ game before?" Deidara asked as he splashed his feet in the cool river much like a child would.

Sasori shook his head and slowly swished the water around with his feet. It felt cool. It was weird how you could actually feel, smell, and taste in the game. "I just made an account today. Would you believe me if I told you my thirteen year old cousin put me up to this?"

Deidara threw his head back and laughed. "Wow, un. I'm glad he did though. Otherwise I wouldn't have met you."

The redhead felt his heat cheeks up at the words. More heat rose when the blond cupped his cheeks.

"You sure blush a lot, un."

"I'm not used to compliments," Sasori admitted.

Deidara smiled and removed his hands. "Is this what you really look like?"

"I look similar…What about you?"

"Natural blond~" he laughed. "Ah, our time is gonna be up soon. Will I see you again?"

Sasori stared down at the water in thought. He honestly thought he wouldn't be playing again, but he did have fun...and now he had a friend. A cute...legal...friend. "Uhm, I guess. I had fun."

Deidara wrapped his arms around the redhead, "Great! I can't wait to see you again then."

The redhead returned the gesture and nodded, "Yeah, me too. By the way...I just noticed. Your level is 19."

"And yours is 35. Damn. Weird ain't it? We weren't supposed to level past 10."

Sasori nodded, "I guess it still has a few glitches. Will we lose our game data from today's beta on the actual day?"

Deidara nodded, "More than likely, but it'll be way easier for us. Ah, my time is up. See you on the fifteenth, un." The blond smiled and placed a kiss on the redhead's cheek before logging off.

The redhead felt his cheeks heat up once again. His whole face nearly turned red as he heard the old men laugh quietly at the display. To avoid any further embarrassment, he logged off as well.

Sasori opened his eyes to see a dark room. His room. He took off the OpticNerve and set it on his bedside table. Well that truly was an adventure. The redhead smiled as the image of the blond appeared in his mind. _I'd like to meet him in real life…_

_What are you talking about?_ the redhead shook his head. He hardly knew they boy. Hell, he could be lying about his entire being, but...he seemed trustworthy.

_I want to see him again…_

Reaching for his phone he sent Matt a quick text saying thanks. He lied down and closed his eyes. The redhead couldn't wait for the fifteenth. He would most definitely meet with Deidara again. With that in mind, he fell asleep and dreamt of fighting beside the blond in the ninja fantasy world.


	2. It Begins

Back with another chapter! :D Sorry it took a bit. Been pretty busy and such. Anyways enjoy this chp. Idk when the next one will be. Happy reads!

WARNING: Will contain future yaoi

Rated: M (becuz there will be smut c; )

Naruto © Kishimoto

SAO © Kawahara

Story © Me

* * *

_ June 15, 2054_

The redhead impatiently waited as he took the subway home. At 4PM today, the game Blades of Infinity went live. Honestly, he couldn't wait to see Deidara again. He'd like to get to know the blond better and possibly meet him in real life.

Sasori frowned at the thought. What was he? A lovesick schoolgirl? He let out a sigh of relief when he reached his stop. Hopping off the bus, the redhead practically ran to his apartment. Upon entering his home, he was greeted by cool air and darkness.

Before setting off into an unknown adventure, the redhead made a small bite to eat. Simple reheat of last night's takeout. Not like he was used to homecooked meals, so it filled his hunger quickly. Sasori sent a quick text to his cousin and quickly shut off his phone. Not like he'd be needing it anyways.

The redhead shut the bedroom door behind him and kept the lights off. He threw his pocket items on his desk and plopped on the bed. Grabbing the OpticNerve, he stared into the blank eye screen. Sasori gripped it and put it over his eyes. Honestly, he felt like a schoolgirl. His palms were sweaty and his heart was thumping loudly in his chest. All because of one boy in a game. "Perhaps, I'm just getting lonely…" he muttered to himself before laying down completely.

"Link Start!"

A flash of bright colors and swift movements of OK boxes and logins. Sasori closed his eyes and opened them as soon as he felt it. A smirk graced his lips as he saw the bright meadow of rice below him.

Unlike his first visit, where he nearly fell on his head, he landed with much grace and ninja like stance. Standing at full height, he pulled down his menu screen. The redhead was not surprised by the lack of experience and level. The blond did say there was a possibility it'd reset. Hope that didn't include the friend list.

Sasori's eyes widened as an unknown object came at him full speed. In a split second he managed to dodge the unidentified figure. The redhead realized he had not been given time to equip any weapons. Guess he'd have to strangle the thing with his bare hands. The thing turned and barged at him once more.

The redhead stood his ground and held his hands out. He focused on the being and was ready to catch whatever the hell it was. Sasori was fairly surprised when the attacker threw themselves at him and instead of attacking, they hugged him.

Sasori held the figure in his arms and suddenly he recognized it. Flowing blond locks. "Deidara?"

"Un!" the blond exclaimed smiling broadly.

The redhead shook his head in disbelief. "How'd you find me so quickly? I just got here," he stated confused.

Deidara smiled sheepishly. "I did too, but I logged on just a bit before you. I saw you from over there and rushed over, un. Hope I didn't scare you."

Sasori chuckled and patted the boy's head, "You did, but it's fine. Thought the game was trying to kill me already."

"It'd be a shame if it did~" the blond giggled. "Man! 6000 people have already logged on to the system! So many, un!"

The redhead was quite amazed too. So many people online for just one game. And it had just started too! "Compared to real life, this number is quite insignificant."

Deidara nodded, "Lots of people in the world. Still, this is big."

"Mhm."

The blond pulled down his menu and gave the redhead a shy smile. "Hey...Wanna join my party?"

Sasori blinked. He never joined a party or guild before. He wasn't exactly a people person. The redhead almost wanted to say no.

"It's only me, un. I figured we could partner up," Deidara explained smiling. "Most people don't like the betas simply because we're stronger, but it's only an advantage for us! So, what do you say?"

The redhead looked over the pop up message carefully before looking back at the blond. He tapped the OK and gave a small smile. "I guess it wouldn't hurt."

"Un! And if you wanted you could just leave. There's nothing keeping you attached," Deidara stated. "Although, I'd be pretty sad and might hunt you down," he giggled.

Sasori chuckled, "I wouldn't expect any less from a brat like you."

The blond stuck his tongue out and put his hands on his hips. "Who you calling a brat, old man."

Sasori's eyebrow twitched and his grin turned dangerous. "Those sound like fighting words."

Deidara smiled slyly, "Maybe~"

Another menu pull down from the blond and another message popped up in front of Sasori. A duel, huh? Sasori chuckled and accepted. "Gimme a minute to equip?"

The blond nodded and began to equip his own weaponry. Once the two were ready to go, the timer started for 60 seconds. Both pulled into a stance and stared each other down.

Deidara was the first to move. He darted off his feet and barged at the redhead full speed. Sasori watched him carefully. He saw a shine of silver and jumped out of the way just right in time. The blond smirked and twirled the kunai on his finger. He stopped it, by gripping it in his hand and charging at the redhead again. Deidara's grin widened as he stabbed downward ready to impale the pale flesh of Sasori's arm.

"Not so fast, brat," the redhead chuckled stopping the movement with his own kunai.

The blond pouted at the block and grabbed his other kunai prepared to stab the redhead in the gut. He gasped when he was suddenly swept off his feet and fell on his butt. He dropped his kunais and bounced off the ground. "Un?"

_Battle winner! Congratulations! a box flashed over the redhead._

Deidara laughed, "You're a lot faster than you look, un. Nice leg sweep."

Sasori nodded and offered the blond a hand. Deidara took it and kept a hold of the hand. It felt nice in his own. Warm even.

"You're pretty fast yourself."

The blond smirked, "Thanks. I guess that's enough messing around though. I wanna explore, un! Let's level up and show them noobs how it's done!"

Sasori chuckled and patted the blond's head. "Sure thing, brat."

* * *

"Fuck! Why the hell can't we get past floor fucking five!?" a albino all but yelled. Another male next to him nodded and raised a fist in the air, joining the complaints.

Sasori and Deidara had just arrived in the town of Topetsu once again. The blond put a hand on his hip and frowned. A mass of people were in the town yelling obscenities and causing havoc.

"The hell is going on, un?" he asked pulling a player aside.

The player tugged out of the blond's hold and scowled, "They won't let any of us pass floor five!"

Sasori frowned and tapped the blond's shoulder. "That is a bit odd."

Deidara nodded in agreeance. "It's like the beta," he whispered.

Suddenly many players began to scream and run towards the two. "KICKERS!" they all screamed. The blond froze in fear. Not only was a herd of players coming at them, but Kickers were here as well? He couldn't help but remember a certain memory from real life. _So small and fragile, yet everyone just stepped over him. Crushing his tiny bones. Suffocating him. Killing him slowly and-_

Sasori grabbed the blond and pulled him close. The blond was just gonna stand there and be trampled! The redhead pulled the dazed blond into his chest and picked him up. Turning sharply on his heel, he sprung off his feet and sprinted off. He threw them out of the way from the herd and clutched Deidara close. What the hell was that kid thinking? Sure it was a game but-

"Sasori...you saved me," the blond muttered stunned.

The redhead blushed lightly. "You were just standing there. I know it's a videogame, but that doesn't mean you let yourself get trampled. Sorry, if I freaked you out. I just felt compelled to get us out of there and-"

Deidara smiled and pressed his finger to the redhead's lips. "Thank you. Even if it just a game. I appreciate it, un." He wrapped his arms around the redhead in a hug.

Sasori returned the hug and sighed, "Reckless brat. I wonder what that was all about though."

"Must've been too many people on the server," Deidara stated.

The redhead nodded. "I guess there's still some bugs. Maybe that's why there was kickers," Sasori stated.

"Maybe. Guess we should log out for now then. It's been a few hours. My family probably is having a family night anyways, un," Deidara muttered. He pulled down his menu and gave the redhead a smile. "See you when they fix the game?"

Sasori nodded.

The blond nodded back and went to sign out. His eyebrows furrowed as he scrolled through his settings. A blank...?

"Something wrong?"

Deidara nodded, "Sasori, could you pull down your menu?"

The redhead gave a short nod and did so. "What about it?"

"Try to log out."

Sasori scrolled through the menu and was surprised when he saw the log out option missing. "There is...no log out..."

Deidara frowned, "This isn't good. A bug like this could mess up the sys-"

The two went wide eyed as their surroundings changed and they were back to floor 1: The Flat Valley.

Amongst them were several other players. Most of them seemed confused as well and were glancing around.

"We're in the town Minamiyama. This is the plaza. The place only big enough to support thousands of players at one time," a tall raven haired male informed instantly.

Sasori and Deidara looked over at the male. He had his hair pulled back into a long low pony tail and wore all black. He carried with him two katanas visibly on his back. He seemed to possess a high level status, although it was left unknown. He must have been hiding it.

_Another beta..._ Deidara thought as he frowned. "Why would the game teleport us all here though, un?"

"Wouldn't we all like to know?" the raven commented.

The blond scowled and instinctively grabbed the redhead's wrist. Smartass.

Sasori removed the blond's hand and patted the boy on the head, running his fingers through the golden locks. "No need to get worked up, brat. I'm sure we're gonna find out soon enough what this is all about."

Deidara sighed and nodded. They just needed to wait until a GM came online. If the problem was this big, then they must've all been alerted of it already. As the blond's thoughts racked his brain, the sky above him changed colors. First red, then to a gray, and soon settled with an image of a cloaked man.

"A gamemaster!" a voice yelled from inside the crowd.

Everyone's heads snapped up to look in attention. The man in the monitor smirked down at all of the players.

"You all must be wondering why I brought you here."

Several "yeah's" and shouts followed his voice.

The man raised his hands in a gesture as to calm down the riled up players. "As you all may or may not have noticed, the logout feature has been removed." The man smirked and watched them carefully. Several players had pulled down their menus and search desperately for the log out.

"If you all haven't figured it out by now, you should know that you're trapped here. This in my game. I am God here," the gamemaster stated, authority booming in his voice.

_His game...?_ Sasori thought to himself. _Wait, could it be...?_

"Uzumaki Nagato."

The redhead turned to see it was the raven who spoke up. "Uzumaki...Nagato?"

Deidara glared at the know it all raven. "He's the guy who created BOI. I don't understand why he'd be here though, un."

The raven hummed in thought, "Something isn't right. I have a bad feeling about this."

"What do you want with us!?" a girl cried out practically shaking.

"Yeah! Why can't we log out!?"

Several others voiced their complaints and soon enough the place turned into a mosh pit.

Deidara grabbed a hold of the redhead and Sasori pulled him closer. A repeat from earlier was not needed. The raven had noticed this action and looked faintly surprised.

Sasori raised an eyebrow at the raven. Why did he have that look on his face?

"QUIET!" the voice boomed.

The thousands of players quieted down subtly. Their attention back to the man above them.

A pleased smiled crossed Nagato's lips. "Thank you. Now there is a few quirks to this game," he started. "This world is just as real as the other. If you die in-game, a trigger in your OpticNerve will go off and boom. Off with your head. This rules applies if the gear is removed as well."

Several gasped and a murmur of players filled the plaza. Sasori himself was in a state of shock. They...could die. Like in the real world. Isn't the point of a video game to escape reality? The redhead looked over at the blond. His face was unreadable. It looked as if he was happy, but sad at the same time.

"What're you thinking?" Sasori asked in a hush tone.

The blond shrugged, "It's nothing…"

Sasori frowned and gave a curt nod. He could ask again some other time, he assured himself.

"If you want to make it out of this game alive, you have to complete the game. To complete the game, you must clear all the floors bosses and survive up until floor 100. Only the strongest can defeat the boss on the last floor. Once that boss is beaten, the game will end and those who survived will live to see another day in the other world," Nagato explained. "Until then," he said before the screen disappeared.

A panic spread throughout all the players and they began to scatter like cockroaches. Sasori tugged Deidara along with him as they made their way out of the crowd. No need to get involved with that mess. The two wound up in a back alley and there they sat down to talk.

"This is real," the redhead stated, staring blankly up at the sunset sky.

Deidara nodded, "Are you scared, un?"

"I...I'm not sure. I mean, I live alone at home. Most relatives are dead or don't associate with me," Sasori muttered. "The only person who'd really care if I was gone would be Matt, but-" He stopped wide eyed. _Matt._ Was Matt in the game!?

The blond cocked his head to the side. "But?"

"My cousin...The one that got me involved in this game. I have to find him."

Deidara frowned, "Do you have him on your friend's list?"

Sasori shook his head, "I didn't get a chance to find him on the day of the beta and he never told me in real life either."

"What're you gonna do then? If he's here, he could be anywhere."

"I have to find him," the redhead stated getting to his feet.

Deidara stood up as well. "I could help you, un. You'd have a higher possibility of finding him. We'd clear floors twice as fast," he said trying to persuade the redhead.

Sasori raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure you want to?"

The blond nodded, "Like I said, we'd clear floors faster. We can search more areas quicker too, un. It'd be better than doing it all by yourself."

"If you insist."

Deidara grinned, "Good. Let's get started! I'm sure that whatever people are left are heading back to floor five. Since we're in the plaza we should stock up on some health potions and teleportation stones, un."

Sasori nodded, "We have a quite long journey ahead of us."


End file.
